Voltage modulator circuit to control light emission for non-invasive timing measurements

ABSTRACT

A non-invasive method and apparatus accurately measures the time difference between two signal edges by optically detecting the emission from a ‘beacon device’ that is modulated as a function of time difference. Through the use of this modulation it is possible to perform timing measurement accurately. Embodiments of a voltage modulator circuit modulate timing information into emission intensity. The method and system of the present invention can be used in applications such as clock skew and pulse width measurements.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a voltage modulator circuit to control light emission for non-invasive timing measurements.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Recent microprocessor designs use a flip-chip assembly to improve power distribution and achieve higher operating frequencies. Debug probing of such devices relies on what is known as Laser Voltage Probing (LVP). However, LVP technology cannot accurately measure edge delays for multi-GHz frequencies and the laser invasiveness is increasing with smaller transistor geometries.

To overcome these problems, methods to translate signal edge timing information into light emission that can be accurately measured using a Time-Resolved Emission (TRE) or InfraRed-Emission Microscope (IREM) have been proposed. These methods are based on the phenomenon that hot electrons in a saturated NMOS transistor (or beacon device) emit infrared radiation both under static bias and switching condition. See T. Eiles, et. al., “Optical Probing of Flip-Chip Packaged Microprocessors”, ISSCC Digest of Technical Papers, pp. 220-221, February 2000, and L. T. Hoe, et. al., “Characterization and Application of Highly Sensitive Infra-Red Emission Microscopy for Microprocessor Backside Failure Analysis”, Proceedings of the 7 ^(th) IPFA, pp. 108-112, 1999. Thus, as indicated in FIG. 1, infra-red light is emitted from an NMOS transistor 10 when in saturation, i.e., Vds>Vgs−Vt.

J.C. Tsang et al., in “Picosecond hot electron emission from submicron complementary metal oxide semiconductor circuits,” Appl. Phys. Lett., p.889-891, February 1997 describes using a commonly available, very low noise optical detector such as mercury cadmium telluride detector array, which has good sensitivity in the range of 0.91-1.45 μm, one can measure the emission intensity (I_(emission)) accurately. The use of light emission for time-dependent analysis is described by Dan Knebel et al. in “Diagnosis and Characterization of Timing-related Defects by Time-dependent Light Emission”, International Test Conference, p. 733-739, August 1998. This paper describes clock skew analysis as one of many potential applications. In addition, it suggests the use of a phase-detector circuit (PFC) to modulate the duration of light pulse as a function of skew.

Thus, as shown in FIG. 2, in the prior art, a Phase-Frequency Comparator (PFC) 11 is used to focus the mode of operation on one particular edge (i.e. rising edge) for which a timing delay Δt is to be measured. The PFC is coupled to a saturated NMOS transistor (or beacon device)13 which emits infrared radiation. The radiation is then detected by a photon detector 15, which may be a TRE or IREM as noted above. The resulting measured pulse, has a width representing Δt.

However, we have found that this method is limited by a ‘deadband region’ where, if the skew is less than the rise/fall time of the clock under test, it will go undetected. A need, therefore, exists for a method and apparatus which overcomes this limitation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a beacon transistor of the prior art which is used in embodiments of the method and apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a prior art arrangement for measuring timing information through the use of light emission from a semiconductor.

FIG. 3 is graph plotting intensity vs. gate voltage for a beacon transistor such as that of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention for measuring timing information through the use of light emission from a semiconductor.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of a modulator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a timing diagram for the embodiment of FIG. 5.

FIGS. 7a-7c are circuit diagrams showing operation of a modulator circuit for an embodiment of a circuit according to FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is showing timing skew vs. intensity and gate voltage and intensity vs. gate voltage for embodiments of the method and apparatus of the present invention.

FIGS. 9A-9C are graphs showing examples of the relationship between clock skew and drain-to-source resistance, drain-to-source current and gate-to-source voltage according to one embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of methods and systems for measuring timing information through the use of light emission from a semiconductor are described. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be appreciated, however, by one skilled in the art, that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, structures and devices are shown in block diagram form. Furthermore, one skilled in the art can readily appreciate that the specific sequence in which methods are presented and performed are illustrative and it is contemplated that the sequences can be varied and still remain within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a novel, non-invasive method and system to accurately measure the time difference between two signal edges. This is accomplished by optically detecting the emission from a ‘beacon device’ that is modulated as a function of time difference. Through the use of this modulation it is possible to perform timing measurement accurately. The system for doing this includes embodiments of a voltage modulator circuit to modulate timing information into emission intensity. The method and system of the present invention can be used in applications such as clock skew and pulse width measurements would benefit from the new technique.

Experimental measurements have shown that the light emission from a saturated NMOS device has an exponential relationship with the gate voltage, Vgs as shown in FIG. 3. Illustrated is a curve 21 for an NMOS transistor and a curve 23 for a PMOS transistor. The present invention employs this dependency to accurately translate the timing difference between two signal edges into a Vgs voltage level, thus modulating the I_(emission). Specifically, the timing difference is first converted to a voltage level Vgs. The voltage level Vgs is then used drive a beacon device, the emission of which can be measured. Timing information is extracted by measuring photon counts (photon detector output) which is linearly proportional to I_(emission). Thus, as shown in FIG. 4, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the PFC 11 is followed by a modulator 12 which drives the beacon transistor 13. Now the output pulse, which has an amplitude proportional to emission intensity, provides a measure of timing difference Δt.

Thus, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention, to translate skew timing information into a Vgs voltage level, a voltage modulator circuit is required. The circuit will be incorporated into the die under test. However, an embodiment of such a circuit according to the present invention, has small area and loading and does not disturb the operation of the circuit being probed. As described in the aforementioned publications, backside emission from the die is measured. Since embodiments of the present invention measure only the light emitted from the device, this method is completely non-invasive and will scale well for smaller device geometries (below 100 nm).

An embodiment of such a circuit is shown in FIG. 5. It includes a series circuit extending between Vcc and ground made up of an NMOS precharge device PPRE 51, two qualifying devices, a PMOS device 53 and an NMOS device 55. The junction between device 51 and device 53 is coupled to one terminal of a capacitor NCAP 57 which has its other terminal coupled to ground. The gate of device 51 is driven by a “precharge” signal. Each of devices 53 and 55 is driven by an switching device. Device 53 is driven by an switching device 60 made up of PMOS device 59 and NMOS device 61. Device 55 is driven by an switching device 64 made up of PMOS device 63 and NMOS device 65. Switching device 60 is driven by a signal “CLKEarly” and switching device 64 by a signal “CLKLate.” The are the two signal, the delay or skew between which is to be measured. The gate of the beacon transistor 10 is coupled the gate of NCAP 57 and the junction between the drain of device 51 and the source of device 53.

FIG. 6 shows the timing waveforms for the embodiment of the circuit of FIG. 5. FIGS. 7a-c repeat the modulator portion of FIG. 5 and are helpful, along with FIG. 6 in understanding the operation of the circuit. FIG. 7a is the modulator circuit by itself. In operation, first, the capacitor 57 is precharged to (Vcc−Vtn) through device 51, when CLKEarly is low. This is illustrated in FIG. 7b, where the dark lines show the part of the circuit active during precharge. At this point, as FIG. 3 suggests, the pre-charged Vgs line (=Vcc−Vtn) sets the emission intensity to a maximum.

Device 55 turns on when the CLKLate signal is low. As the CLKEarly signal goes high, device 53 switches ON, developing a conductive path between the capacitor and ground. The active parts of the circuit now are shown in dark lines in FIG. 7c. Now the capacitor begins discharging the gate voltage, and with it the intensity decreases. The conduction lasts until CLKLate goes high. The difference between the time when CLKEarly goes high and the time when CLKLate goes high is the time difference or skew to be measured. Thus, it is apparent that the longer this time, the more the discharge and the lower the intensity. Thus, effectively the modulator converts a time difference, such as a skew into a value of voltage Vgs. As is explained in more detailed below, this voltage is then used, in combination with the known relationship between Vgs and intensity plotted in FIG. 3, to obtain a linear relationship between intensity, which can be measured as indicated in FIG. 4, and timing difference or skew.

As illustrated by the embodiment of FIG. 4, it is possible to also use a Phase-Frequency Comparator (PFC) to focus the mode of operation on one particular edge (i.e. rising edge). In this case the two outputs of PFC (UP and DOWN) replaces CLKEarly and CLKLate signals as indicated on FIG. 6.

Since the qualifying devices 53 and 55 are operating in saturation, the current (Ids) is proportional to the square of the capacitor voltage.

I _(ds)=β₁(V _(gs1)/2)²(1+λ.V _(ds1))=β₂(V _(gs2)/2)²(1+λ.V _(ds2))  (equation 1)

For very small number of λ, Ids αV_(gs1) ²αV_(gs2) ²where the subscript 1 represents device 53 of FIG. 5 and subscript 2 represents device 55 in the same figure.

Thus, R _(ds1) =V _(gs1) /I _(ds1) αV _(gs1) /V _(gs1) ²=1/V _(gs1)  (equation 2)

Likewise R_(ds2)α1/V _(gs2)

The exponential behavior of I_(emission) vs. V_(gs) represented by circle points in FIG. 8 is compensated by the inverse relationship between V_(gs) and R_(ds) shown in FIG. 2. With R_(ds) linearly proportional to skew, the linear relationship between I_(emission) and skew is guaranteed. These relationships are evident from the graphs of FIGS. 8 and 9a-9 c. FIG. 9a shows the relationship between R_(ds) and clock skew. The linear relationship is apparent. FIG. 9b shows the relationship between Ids and clock skew. Finally, FIG. 9c shows the relationship between the Vgs voltage and clock skew. Also shown is the voltage at nodes n0, n1 and n2 of FIG.5.

Turning to FIG. 8, three curves are plotted. First, timing difference or skew vs. gate voltage is plotted as curve 101. This is the same relationship as shown in FIG. 7c. Intensity vs. gate voltage is plotted as curve 103. This corresponds to curve 21 of FIG. 3. From these, the relationship of intensity vs. skew is obtained and plotted as curve 105. Again, the linearity is apparent. The non-linearity of the skew vs. gate voltage has compensated for the non-linearity in the intensity vs. gate voltage relationship. It can be seen that with no timing difference measured, Vgs and intensity are at their normalized value of 1. As time increases, and the capacitor 57 of FIG. 5 discharges, Vgs, and with it intensity decreases. The larger the time difference, the more the decrease as shown by curve 105 of FIG. 8. Thus, with embodiments of the modulator of the present invention, it is possible to determine the timing difference or skew by means of measuring the intensity of the emission from the beacon transistor.

In summary, the voltage modulator according to embodiments of the present invention has two functions:

1. to convert a time difference which may be skew timing information into a Vgs voltage level controlling a beacon device; and

2. to linearize the relationship between I_(emission) response and skew. By doing this, the ‘deadband region’ of the prior art is avoided. Furthermore, there is no perturbation to clock operation due to small area and loading, a linear relationship between I_(emission) and skew is maintained avoiding distortion due to non-linearity. As noted above embodiments of the present invention also scale well for smaller device geometries (below 100 nm).

Embodiments of a method and apparatus to translate timing differences into emission intensity have been described. In the foregoing description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be appreciated, however, by one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, structures and devices are shown in block diagram form. Furthermore, one skilled in the art can readily appreciate that the specific sequences in which methods are presented and performed are illustrative and it is contemplated that the sequences can be varied and still remain within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

In the foregoing detailed description, apparatus and methods in accordance with embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments. Accordingly, the present specification and figures are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A non-invasive method to accurately measure the time difference between two signals comprising detecting the emission from a beacon device the intensity of which is modulated as a function of said time difference, the detecting being used to measure the time difference.
 2. A non-invasive method to accurately measure the time difference between two signals according to claim 1 wherein said time difference is a time difference between two timing signals.
 3. A non-invasive method to accurately measure the time difference between two signals according to claim 1 wherein said time difference is a clock skew.
 4. Apparatus to accurately measure the time difference between two signals comprising: a. a beacon device having an emission response; b. means to modulate the intensity of the beacon device as a function of the time difference; and c. means to detect an emission from the beacon device.
 5. Apparatus to accurately measure the time difference between two signals according to claim 4 wherein said means to modulate comprise: a. means to convert said time difference into a voltage level; b. means to supply said voltage to the beacon device; and c. means to linearize the relationship between said emission response and said time difference.
 6. Apparatus to accurately measure the time difference between two signals according to claim 5 wherein said means to convert comprise: a. means to precharge a capacitor with a supply voltage; and b. means to discharge said capacitor for a period equal to the time difference between two signals.
 7. Apparatus to accurately measure the time difference between two signals according to claim 5 wherein the relationship between said voltage and said time difference is non-linear and said means to linearize comprise a beacon device having a characteristic relationship between the voltage and the intensity which compensates for said non-linear relationship.
 8. Apparatus to accurately measure the time difference between two signals according to claim 7 wherein said beacon device is a saturated NMOS transistor.
 9. A non-invasive method to accurately measure the time difference between two signals, comprising: a. converting the time difference into a voltage level; b. supplying the voltage level to a beacon device having an emission response; c. linearizing the relationship between the emission response and the time difference; and d. detecting an emission from the beacon device the intensity of which is modulated as a function of the time difference.
 10. A non-invasive method to accurately measure the time difference between two signals according to claim 9 and further comprising detecting the intensity of light emitted from said beacon device.
 11. A non-invasive method to accurately measure the time difference between two signals according to claim 10 wherein said converting comprises: a. precharging a capacitor with a supply voltage; and b. discharging said capacitor for a period equal to the time difference between two signals.
 12. A non-invasive method to accurately measure the time difference between two signals according to claim 11 wherein the relationship between said voltage and said time difference is non-linear and said linearizing comprises providing said beacon device having a characteristic relationship between voltage and intensity which compensates for said non-linear relationship.
 13. A non-invasive method to accurately measure the time difference between two signals according to claim 12 wherein said beacon device is a saturated NMOS transistor. 